Day to day goings on here at the farm. Everything from weather to horses and donkeys to chickens to cats and dogs and everything in between. Some blogs will be informative. While others will be I hope, just entertaining and keep you coming back. And of course there will be pictures.

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Friday, December 31, 2010

Lost the last of our two Boxers in the beginning of the year.Lost my house.Came within a hair of becoming homeless.Financial struggles.The entire economy was, well, you know. So many people losing their homes.Well, it was just not a good year.

However there are some things that were great.

Found a wonderful place to rent that accepted all the animals.Health wise everyone came through pretty darned good.The unbelievable support throughout the year from friends ( which includes all of you) and family.Found out what depression is and chose to overcome it.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Okay, get a load of this. The mail lady here at the new house is truly something else. On the 28th she left this notice stating there is a package for me. As you can see her note says package too big for tote I leave at the mailbox. I call the post office and yup, the package is there. I tell them I will pick it up the 29th. Fine. Well, on the 29th the mail lady leaves the package wrapped in a plastic bag next to the mailbox. Really? I called and said I would pick it up at the post office! Okay. Whatever.

This is the note she left in the mailbox today. Seriously? She wants her plastic garbage bag back so she can reuse it? Really? Um, not going to happen because the plastic bag got ripped while taking the package out. Really? She wants the bag back?! After shaking my head in disbelief then laughing hysterically about it how ridiculous her request is an idea came to mind.

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Fine. She wants her plastic bag back, well, then she should be thrilled with two boxes of unopened plastic bags! Now I am sure you are asking yourself why I am going to leave both boxes of plastic bags in the mailbox tomorrow. This is why. I am leaving her a note to take one plastic bag to replace the one she wants back. The others are for her to keep in her vehicle so she has my plastic bags on hand whenever a package is delivered to my address and requires a plastic bag. There have already been problems with this mail carrier. If I have outgoing mail that needs to be picked up, and no incoming mail, she does not stop to get the outgoing mail. I contacted the postmaster and was told that picking up outgoing mail is a courtesy. Really? Since when! No wonder so many people are unhappy with the post office. Until next time............................

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

For several days I have been giving thought to getting more chickens. Well, not thinking about just chickens because my mind has been full of ideas lately.

After doing a bit of research I do believe the Buff Orpington would make a good choice. The pic above is one from the Internet.

According to what I have read, they make excellent layers, are friendly, get kind of big and if it came down to it, well, they are good meat birds. Not that I would eat them.

Little Inger ( White Silky Bantam) , my absolute fave chicken, is being broody yet once again. Each day when I collect eggs, there she is sitting on eggs she has stolen from the other chickens. And again I must tell her that it is too cold for her to be raising babies. She gives me 'sad' face, which makes me feel bad, but having babies in winter is just not an option.

Come March I plan on purchasing some Buff chicks. Well, that is if I decide for sure they will be Buffs. I wonder if placing the Buff chicks with Little Inger and have her raise them is a good idea. That way she has instant babies! Does anyone know if placing already hatched chicks with a broody hen will work?

And I have already begun to plan the garden! This will be the first real garden I will be planting in 6 years. But there is something I am wondering about. And that is what seeds to plant. Well, what I mean is, purchase the seeds available in just about any store, or plant some heirloom seeds. With all this genetically altered stuff going on, I question the safety of those seeds. What I understand is the heirloom seeds are not messed with and will produce what used to be in years long gone. Any thoughts on seed choices?

Seems these past few days my mind is filling up with all kinds of projects. Me thinks I am getting back to 'normal'. The other day I was chopping wood and there was one piece that was pretty much getting the better of me. After a few minutes I decided that there was no way that piece of wood was going to win. So, with determination, I finally got it to split. Once it was in pieces I stood back, looked at it, then started doing a 'I won' dance around the pieces! I'm sure the cars driving by think a crazy lady lives here!

Oh, speaking of crazy. Haven't seen Creepy guy for awhile now.

I would love to hear your thoughts on what breed you like for chickens. I am looking for good egg layers. Also your thoughts on the difference between heirloom or regular seeds.

Monday, December 27, 2010

When we rented the house we live in now, there are two heat alternatives. One is the oil furnace, but at over three dollars a gallon, well, not an option. The second is the fireplace. Naturally the fireplace was chosen for the only heat source. Just before we moved in we found a wood stove listed on Craigslist for fifty dollars. Definitely in the price range that was affordable. Come to find out the folks we bought the wood stove from were in the process of being foreclosed on, so they had to get rid of as much stuff as possible. Having just gone through it, words of advice were given as well as advice on how to sell on EBay. They knocked off ten dollars from the price of the stove. And they gave us a pile of seasoned wood! Sweet!

The little wood stove has been heating the house fairly okay.

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Now that the colder temps are here, the little wood stove isn't able to keep the house warm enough. So it was time to search for another one. On Craigslist there was an ad that had been on for about a week. After crunching numbers, doing without a few things, the phone call was made to go look at it. When we arrived we knew right away it would be perfect. The question was asked if the price was firm. The guy said it depends. He wanted to know if it was going to be resold at a profit. After a quick laugh we told him no. Briefly explained the losing of the house, trying to find a place that would rent that would accept animals, etc.. He laughed and told us that a year ago he and his family lost their house. They had to be out on December 24th! As we stood there talking, he asked if we could afford half the asking price of the stove. With our jaws hanging, we said yes and a huge thank you. I came within in a millisecond of crying. Then we got to talking about now is the time to start helping one another. If one person helps someone, and that person helps someone and so on, we as a community can and will get through these tough times.

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As we were about to leave, he said he had something else for us. He walked away and came back with an entire set of fireplace tools! We told him that if he ever needed help with anything, to please call.

Christmas Eve morning we pulled out the little wood stove, installed the 'new' one, lit the fire and the house has been actually warm now! Let me say, the new stove is three times as heavy as the little one!

It was decided that if someone is in need of a wood stove, then the little stove will be given to them at no cost.

Oh, and get this. The guy we bought the stove from had put the wrong phone number on the ad and had just changed it to the correct number that day!

We, meaning all of us, can and will get through this, well, as I refer to it now, " The 2nd Great Depression". The folks who made it through the first one are among those whom I have great admiration and respect.

Don't ever doubt what gesture of kindness from the heart can do for someone!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The dogs started growling and barking which of course caught my attention. They were staring at the front door, so we went out the side door to come around the house to the front door. By this time they had calmed down. Hmmmm. Nothing to be seen or heard.

But wait!!

Across the road is a red light. What the heck is that? Back into the house for the binoculars. At first it looked like a motorcycle tail light. Nope. Maybe the neighbor put a red light for Christmas decoration. Nope. Hmmmm.

Ha, I know what it is. It's a road flare. Right smack in the middle of the neighbors driveway.

Okay, why? Don't know.

Then I started noticing the cars slowing way down when the flare was noticed.

Nothing going on except the flare, well, flaring.

Now I am curious as to why there is a flare in the middle of the neighbors driveway.

Maybe the neighbor put it there to slow the traffic down.

Maybe it is there to guide out of town guests where they are suppose to turn.

Don't have a clue and don't know the neighbors as of yet, so, I suppose this will remain a mystery for who knows how long.

Until next time.................

PS-- Thank you all for your words of encouragement and support and experiences. It truly is amazing how words alone can do wondrous things. Hugs.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

John over at Going Gently http://disasterfilm.blogspot.com/ left a comment the other day on one of my posts. His words touched my heart and also made me do some serious thinking about Christmas.

As most of you know this year was not a good year. From losing the last of my Boxers to losing my beloved house, almost becoming homeless, having to move, well, just not a good year.

Over these past few months I have been battling I suppose a bit of depression. Only thing is, I didn't realize it until John left a comment. Thankfully this is the only time in my life the word depression has come on to the scene.

Being in a new house ( which is not mine and yes that bothers me), and it being winter, and not having my stall barn to put the horses and donkeys in on cold nights and icky days has played a pretty big part in this whole depression thing. I worry about them being out in the pasture with just some redneck tarp shelters to try to protect them from the elements. My sister Connie told me yesterday that it probably doesn't bother them as much as it does me. And she is right. Thanks Sis.

The picture is of the entry to my beloved lost house during Christmas time last year. I made myself look at all the pictures of my beloved house to help deal with the loss of it.

Now that I realize what has been going on with my 'blue moods', I can do something about it. And that is to accept what has happened. Nothing is going to change the past. So it is time for me to follow my own advice and "Buck the 'F' up".

Yes, there have been a lot of positives. Especially with finding this place that allowed all the animals.

I seriously need to reconnect with my wacky sense of humor. Somewhere along the way it got lost.

Monday, December 20, 2010

As most of you know our only source of heat is a wood stove. And with a wood stove it has to have wood. After having two cords of wood delivered, it was a no brainer to utilize what is available on the property here. There are quite a few dead, downed trees perfect for burning. Here is the first of many logs we hauled up from one side of the hill behind us. Thank goodness for the winch. Without that, we would have been trudging up the side of the hill carrying sections of it.

The trusty chainsaw nicknamed Mighty Might. Having a small chainsaw has its advantages. It is easy to carry and easy to use.

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All weekend it rained. Snowed every now and then. Wind was blowin'. And cold. And we were in it! As you can see, my raincoat is downright filthy. Log after log was hauled up on to the road behind the barn. Section after section was cut, loaded up in to the back of the Gator, driven down to the house, stacked up and back up the hill for more. I learned how to set a choker. Which is taking the winch line with a huge clasp down to the log you want to haul up, wrapping the line twice around the log, hooking the clasp on to the line, and then walking back up the hill to winch the log up. Once the log is up, then it is unhooking the line and the sawing begins.

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This is just part of the wood that was brought down from the one hill behind the house. There is still a lot of downed trees to be retrieved. Not only will all that dead wood heat the house, it will also be cleaned up from the property so there won't be as much fuel for wildfires if and when they happen here.

I have a new respect for the hard work a lumberjack does. They really do bust their butt's on the job. Although instead of cutting live trees like lumberjacks do, only the dead ones will be taken and used here.

Oh, and while I was up on the hill, Creepy Guy was seen walking down the road yelling at every car that drove by.

Don't be surprised if my next post is a rant. There are several subjects that have riled me up again.

One more thing, Arnold is doing great! Which has me relieved. The thought of any of the critters here not feeling good really worries me.

Um, in my eyes it lays on the parent to raise their kids. If the parent says no, and the kid acts up, well, teach the kid that no is no. That no amount of whining and crying and stomping their feet is going to change the fact that they are not getting their way.

Is it really the fast food places that have caused obesity? I think not. No one forces these people to eat there. It is a choice! Whatever happened to taking responsiblity for ones self and not blaming others. Geez.

I do believe I have ranted about this subject before, but after watching the whole blame game this morning riled me up again.

When I was working outside the home, putting in ten hour days and raising three kids by myself it was my responsibilty to cook dinner for them to teach them how to eat correctly. It was also my responsiblity to teach them manners. As well as if they did somthing that was not acceptable that there were consequences. On the other hand there was always a reward for a job well done. Fast food was and is a treat to this day.

Okay, I suppose this is enough ranting.

I was actually going to post about something else, but this whole fast food drama changed my mind. Don't be surprised if I post about what I was going to late on today.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

This morning while I was heading to the pasture to feed, water and check blankets I saw Creepy Guy walking on the other side of the road.

The temperature was 37 degrees and he wasn't wearing his shirt. He was carrying his shirt and talking to himself very loudly.

Thankfully I left the dogs inside the house otherwise they would have started barking and he would have started growling and yelling at them.

To be honest I am not sure if he is mentally handicapped or is an alcoholic/druggie. So, until I know what his story is you can bet I will keep my distance. I know if I am out in the pasture with the horses and donkeys there is never a worry about a stranger getting too close to me. The donkeys are very protective. And if the dogs are with me, well, Honey Dog especially, will defend me. Not that I really need protection because I really can hold my own, but it is nice to know my back is covered!

I'm sure sometime down the line his story will be told. And as soon as I find out, you will too!

Oh, one more note to self: Before picking up water hose, look for chicken poo on it! Especially if your aren't wearing gloves!!

Monday, December 13, 2010

This morning as I was getting ready to start the day, the light bulb went off in my head. We have lived here for several weeks now adjusting to new surroundings, routines, etc. It dawned on me that I have been sort of living in a daze for awhile with all the new changes. Funny how we can get through each day, but not really being 'there' in mind. You know, just doing what needs and has to be done.

Ever since we moved in, Ruby, photo above, has wanted to stay in the house. Nothing unusual about that except Ruby is 15 years old and has never once wanted to be in the house. She has been an outside cat all of her life until now. Hmmm, wonder why all of a sudden she wants to be an indoor kitty. On top of that, she uses the kitty boxes like she has been using them all her life. She sleeps with me at night, along with her brother Mr. Smith ( who has always enjoyed being in the house). He is the orange cat pictured below. No, he doesn't normally look like that. I woke him up when this pic was taken.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Since it is the Christmas season it was time to bring out one of my most prized treasures.

This reindeer ornament belonged to my Grandmother. She gave it to me when I was a kid in the 1960's. For quite a few years I would hang the reindeer on the very front of the tree. Then as I got older I didn't want to take a chance of it getting broke. So, now it is wrapped up in foam, tissue paper inside a crush proof container. I only look take it out once a year only to look at it, never to hang or display again. Have had it this long without it getting broke so am taking no chances with it.

It is hand blown mercury glass made in Germany. My best age guess would be between the 1920's to no later than the 1940's.

I am finding out that living further out in the country that the Internet has its good days and its bad ones. Yesterday it went down and didn't come back on until just a little bit ago.

Arnold has laminits. Not doubt about it! So, I cleaned out the inside of what was the original dog kennels here ( there is a room connected to the kennels themselves which is now the sick room), putting stall mats down and putting pine shavings down, I now have a medical/sick area for the horses and donkeys. Now I can sleep better at night knowing there is an area where I can put whoever is not feeling well.

And with some detective work I located a local feed and farm store. It is only about ten minutes away which beats 30 minutes or longer driving into town. That was a highlight in my day.

No new wildlife sightings. I keep trying to get a pic of Bobby the Bobcat, but not such luck yet.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

My farrier came out this morning to look at Arnold. And to trim other donkey feet. I told him what I suspected what was wrong with Arnold, either laminitis or abscess. After checking and trimming his feet he came up with the same conclusion. It is one or the other. Now that Arnold has been trimmed, if it is an abscess, then it should blow out in a few days. So, being on the cautious side I have started a sugar and betadine solution on his feet to help with the abscess if in fact there is one. As for if it is laminitis, well, a schedule of anti inflammatory medicine and strict diet. And that means he has to come closer to the house ( in the breezeway) so I can monitor him. I have also noticed that Arnold has been sad which also concerns me. So I have been making it a point to spend time with just him throughout the day which seems to brighten his spirits up. I know as soon as we all get into a regular routine like we had at the other house, he will feel better. With him having such a rough life before we got him, maybe moving to a new place he has anxiety now for fear of what has happened to him in the past and that it might happen again.

I get up before the sun rises to start the day. This morning on my way to let the chickens out there was Mother Nature showing a beautiful sunrise.

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Another pic of the sunrise.

Mother Nature sure does know what she is doing when it comes to beauty.

Monday, December 6, 2010

With each day comes a new sighting of the wildlife here. Day before yesterday I startled a fox on one of the hills behind the house. Yes, I had my camera but by the time I got it out, turned it on and aimed, well, the fox bounded away. He/she sure was a pretty little thing. Late yesterday afternoon there was an odd type of squawking sound. After looking around and not finding the source I figured oh well. Just about then movement in a tree caught my attention. There, up in a tree, were a bunch of Quail. If you look close you can sort of see them. There must have been a dozen or so. The buck came down for a visit the other morning. And there have been two more Bobby the Bobcat sightings. Oh, and the smell of skunk hung in the air for a little bit the other night. It wasn't close to the house which is a good thing. If there is one smell on this planet that will make me gag, it is the smell of a skunk. Yup, I gag everytime. Haven't seen a raccoon or a possum yet, but not saying they aren't out there. Arnold isn't any worse this morning which is a good thing. At the old house the stall barn was up which made it easy to stall a horse or donkey who wasn't feeling well. Here there is not much for them except a portable stall with a tarp for covering. I have to drive into town today so will pick up some pine shavings in case I do have to bring Arnold here to the house. Who knows what other wildlife I will see!!! Now if only I can take pics at the speed of light!! Until next time....................

Sunday, December 5, 2010

As soon as the sun begins to rise each morning I let my chickens out of the chicken house. This morning when I opened the door, sadly I found Danni, my little comic, dead on the floor. No injuries, no blood, nothing. She was fine and being her silly self last night when I locked everyone up. She showed no signs of illness so am somewhat baffled as to why she died. And she was about two years old so it sure wasn't old age. Out of all the chickens, she was one with a sense of humor.

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She was given a proper burial complete with a prayer. I can only hope the hole is deep enough so the wildlife won't dig her up. She is buried on one of the hills on the property away from the rest of the chickens as well as the rest of the animals. I feel bad for her having to be buried so far away. You know, all alone on a hill.

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For three days I have been worried about Arnold. He either has laminitis ( inflammation of the hoof) or forming hoof abscesses in his front feet. And he seems to be on the sad side. He isn't his usual handsome self. I have been giving him Banamine ( a drug for inflammation) to help ease his discomfort. Thankfully my farrier is coming out Tuesday morning and hopefully we can found out exactly what is going on with his feet. Distinguishing between laminits and abscesses can be somewhat of a challenge especially in donkeys. Regardless of what is wrong with him, I am contemplating bringing him to the house where there is a breezeway between the house and garage. I can put some rubber stall mats down with some shavings and keep him there until he feels better. Arnold was the first donkey rescue and he is very near and dear to my heart.

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And speaking of donkeys. Everytime I drive the Gator out into the pasture they just have to make it a point to come over and see if their is any food. And it just so happened I had hay this time. Good times!

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While out checking on Arnold, Oreo goat came up and wanted to be petted. Out of all the goats she is the friendliest and enjoys a good scratch.

Having animals does keep us on our toes!

Oh, just to let you all know, I pleaded with the neighbor about letting Betsy goat come live with me, but he flat refused. Said he loved her and would miss her. Um, okay, sure didn't miss her when she was in my pasture for x-amount of months! I can only hope she will be okay. But a part of me says otherwise.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Alrighty, it is time for one of my vents. I woke up this morning grumbling about the holidays. Specifically Christmas. Not sure if it is because age has crept up or it has just gradually become worse over the years.

The whole commercialization of Christmas. Buy. Buy. Buy. If the kids don't get the top seller of the season then they are devastate and think life is unfair. If it isn't a top of the line, name brand item, then it is embarrassing.

The employees in stores are required to say " Happy Holidays" and not "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending someone. Really? Well, I am offended when someone says Happy Holidays! Yesterday at the bank the gal behind the counter said "Happy Holidays" to me. I stood there, looked at her and said loud and clear, "Merry Christmas". She grinned and said it back to me. I thanked her and left.

Whatever happened to baking goodies, putting them into a basket or gift box and giving that?Or making something and giving that? Or doing something for someone that would help them out?

As I sit here writing this, the gifts I most remember are the food gift baskets from neighbors/family/friends. Now don't get me wrong, there are some store bought gifts I have to this day. But I couldn't tell you each and every gift that was store bought over the years and whom it came from and most likely don't even have anymore because it ended up to be just stuff after awhile. The items I still have are ones that were heartfelt. I'm sure you have some too. The ones whenever you look at them still brings a smile to your face.

Is it my age making me think this way? Has it really become so commercialized that the true spirit has faded into the past of a bygone era? Have times really changed to such an extreme we have forgotten the true meaning?

My mission this Christmas season is when I go to any store, it will be a loud and clear "Merry Christmas" said. If I offend someone, well, too damn bad. I am tired of being being offended by all this politically correct B.S.!

And so on that note I say a loud and heartfelt Merry Christmas to you all!!!

Friday, December 3, 2010

While we were moving the horses, donkeys and chickens, all the cats were rounded up and either put into carriers or were allowed to roam free inside vehicles as we were making trips from old house to new. Only having four carriers and way more cats, free roaming was an only option. All the cats settled in right away. As you can see Smudge here ( pic above) immediately investigated every part of the house. Here she is at the very tip top of the ceiling on a ledge that runs the entire house.

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Jovi and Squirrel finding another high spot in the house. There are a lot of ledges and cabinets they can get up on. Let's just say with having so many high places for the cats to get to, throughout the night you can hear cats jumping from one high place to another.

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Ozzy doesn't care for anything having to do with exercising too much energy. He prefers the easiest place to stretch out. Here he is in front of the wood stove doing what he does best.

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The very first hot meal I cooked in the new house. Steak, rice, buttered bread and tomatoes. I am looking forward to garden season. Now that we have plenty of water and good soil, a huge garden will be planted. Most for us, some for the horses, donkeys, goats and chickens and a bit for the deer.

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The last of the animals to come over were the goats. Now let me tell you I never in a million years would have thought loading goats would be quite the adventure it was. The goats are not exactly overly friendly and not very trusting. Thank goodness they will come up to me. First goat caught was Oreo ( black and white). A quick grab, held on, picked her up and into the trailer she went. Okay, that's not too bad. Next was Goldie Goat. She was a bit more wary of coming up to me. But knowing I had treats got the better of her. As soon as she was close enough to grab, in she went. By this time Gabby and Baby are wise to what is going on. That's when it all turned into a rodeo. There was no place to confine them and they had five acres in which to run away. After some time Baby was getting tired enough she got caught, lifted up and into the trailer she went. That left Gabby. We are all tired, out of breath and having to dig deep to catch the last one. What seemed like an eternity, Gabby tired enough for me to literally jump on her bringing her to the ground. As bad as I felt having to do that, there was not another option. There were already three goats who were stressed in the trailer and time was running out to get them to the new house before it was dark. After catching our breath we guided Gabby to the trailer, picked her up, put her in and sighed. The last of the animals were loaded up. Yay! The goats unloaded pretty good. They looked around at their new surroundings and started munching on the grass. Animal moving adventure over! Thank goodness. Three solid days of moving animals is enough to last me quite awhile. I can honestly say I found muscles I never knew I had during this move. From loading furniture to unwilling donkeys wanting to load, to goat wrangling and everything in between. Until next time.........................

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Moving chickens turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Here is the chicken house before being put together.

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Chicken house just about ready for them. Want to know how all the chickens came over at once? Not having enough carriers for them all, the only alternative I had was to load them up in the horse trailer! Sorry, no pic of that. But just imagine 15 chickens being caught and loaded up in the trailer. Let's just say that they were all very upset. Roosters crowed all the way to the new house. Talk about some strange looks driving through the small town of Jacksonville. A horse trailer that is crowing!

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After a few days of being here all the chickens settled in quite nicely. I opened the curtains one morning to see a hen perched on the wood pile in front of one of the big windows looking in.

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In fact they have all settled so nicely that every morning when I let them out of their house, they make a beeline for the front steps. Not sure why they do it, but it's okay since they eat bugs.

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Little Inger really seems to enjoy the new house. The other day she scared me. I couldn't find her and began to panic. I hollered and hollered for her. Nothing. Then I walked into the hen house just as she was coming out of one of the cat carriers ( for them to lay their eggs in). She started 'talking' to me asking me what I was so upset about. After all, she had been there the whole time!

Update on the sightings of Bobby the Bobcat. My youngest daughter came up with Bobby. I know, not very original. Anyway, yesterday as I was checking blankets, watering and checking the horses and donkeys I looked up to see Bobby way out in the pasture. He was just sitting there, then casually got up and walked back into the blackberry bushes. Of course I didn't have my camera with me. Note to self: bring camera all the time!

I was asked about if I am going to bring Patti Cake back. It's funny but I have thought about bringing her back home, but have decided for now that she is safe and happy where she is now. I may change my mind later on.

Betsy goat had to go back to the next door neighbor. On our last day at the old house I saw her in her old pen and I told her I was sorry I couldn't bring her. Believe me, if I could have brought her over her I would have. But taking her without permission would have been stealing and so it was not an option.

About Me

My passion is helping animals. Will fight tooth and nail for what I believe in. Independant. Believe in The Golden Rule and what goes around comes around. Treasure my family, friends and all the animals that I have had the good fortune to have had and now have in my life.